


To Take Flight

by demeritus



Category: Arthurian Mythology, Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels, Angel Percival, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24970957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demeritus/pseuds/demeritus
Summary: An angel has lost his wings.
Relationships: Galahad & Percival (Arthurian)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	To Take Flight

Percival walked the roughly trodden path that must have usually hosted horses, for its bumps and dips were not kind to his too-soft feet, but was he not lucky to have these thin leather shoes, this youthful body more capable of such travel? Each step and each shock of pain, each trip and fall from his unpracticed gait, each bruise and fracture in his imperfect, human form, was a penance, a reminder of what he had done, and what should he have expected after such a failure? His existence, tied as it was to guidance, succour, healing, was at its peak when he was with Pelles, who himself spent years paying penance. But Pelles was old, and Percival so young, so anxious to leave Raphael’s shadow, to show his love for humanity, to prove himself capable of bringing light to the suffering. 

He should have known it would need to be different, he thought, doing these things alone, with no more guidance, and yet when he saw Pelles, saw his anguish and sadness amongst all the earthly pleasures, Percival was struck with such sorrow for the man that the mercy he was meant to provide, the idea that he might have such power to save him, seemed so impossible that he called upon his teachers to do these things for Pelles, for he could not have strength and grace enough to do so himself. 

The pain was what he imagined to be the fires of Hell, and the moment it came he knew he had been mistaken, for Pelles was now out of reach, but still ill, and he knew these things were not meant to be so after his intervention, and the terrible knowledge of his failure burned into his mind as the wings that marked him as a creature of Heaven burned as well, severed from his being, and while one moment he could see everything he had caused, the retribution of his dear Father and the blights that would find these lands, now vulnerable, and the familiar lights and fires of his home, then he could only see one thing, one place, and it was raining and dark and a despair he had never before felt set into his being as the cold enveloped him, and when he cried out for his fellows, no one answered, and when he wept they were not tears to heal the sick or bless the land, but tears of mortal pain, falling in vain.

-

Percival walked the misty land so long, his consciousness caught in a trance as obscured as the world around him, and he only awoke when hard stone blocked his way and the pain of the road caught up with his senses, so without thought he turned to where he had come from and leaned against the wall, drawing his weight down until he was sitting on the ground - hard against him but the grass soft and slick against the exposed skin of his ankles. He stared forward and for the first time alone on this earth, he felt the gaze of another upon him, and in honest hope turned to look for who it might be.

Staring at him in - confusion? - was a boy who perhaps could have looked Percival straight in the eyes if he, his eyes rimmed red and raw, Percival now saw, was not folded so neatly into himself, his shoulders drooping, his arms wrapped around his torso, his legs tucked in, his head the only part of him alert. Percival could tell it was not fear, or anxiety, but pain flowed from this young man like the rain that had weighed him down on his journey to this unknown place. Percival blinked a few times and rubbed the water from his eyes, hoping it would make the world all the clearer. In a motion of what must have been instinct, he used that same sleeve to gently wipe at the boy’s cheeks.

The boy was frozen, and he opened his mouth a few times, no words coming out.

“Do not be afraid,” Percival said, twisting around his expression several times, hoping to come upon one that felt correct, one that might comfort this boy in the way he no longer could simply by being himself.

The boy blinked a few times, and there must have been something right about Percival’s expression because some of his apprehension seemed to go away.

“It’s cold,” the boy said, louder than Percival was prepared for. “Go inside. Please. The nuns will care for you.”

Percival tilted his head to look closer at the structure.

“This is a holy place,” he said simply, before looking back at the boy. “Do they care for _you _\- the nuns?”__

__The boy lowered his head._ _

__“What do you need, my child?” Percival spoke softly to the young man, soon realizing he must look foolish, for his own voice seemed no older than the young man’s, but his sentiments were no different now than they would have been with the blessings of Heaven upon his soul._ _

__“I have all that I need,” the boy said, and Percival knew, though he could not tell why, the boy was not lying, but trying to convince himself of this statement._ _

__“I am Percival,” he said, still relying upon habit though he knew this encounter was different. He felt the weight of the boy’s presence, equal in power and form to his own, the weight of being human, like the heat of his former existence was a distant memory drowned out by the rain._ _

__“Galahad,” he said after a moment, and Percival hoped he was not imagining the intimacy that had grown between them by exchanging names._ _

__“Why - why are you alone, in such a place as this?” He could tell he was beginning to pick up Galahad’s cadence, or perhaps he was remembering how he should be speaking._ _

__“This is my home,” Galahad said, sounding much like he had when he said he needed nothing more._ _

__Percival placed his hand on Galahad’s shoulder, after pulling away a few times, and he was struck in a way he could not define, by the warmth that radiated from Galahad even through his soaked clothing. It was nothing like the heat he remembered, the heat that had encompassed himself and his home or the heat of what it had been like to have who he was taken from him. This was gentle, subtle, and it made Percival aware of his heartbeat, his breathing, all these new things that made him the same as Galahad. This was no longer what he knew, the pity of an eternal being against the fear of a mortal, the mercy of the Lord toward his Children. He _felt _what Galahad felt; fragile, alone, unsure.___ _

____“Please,” Percival said, and he could already tell his voice was changing. “It would be best to be somewhere dry and warm.”_ _ _ _

____Percival was already feeling what must have been a sickness in his own body, and if Galahad was feeling the same - something Percival had no earthly knowledge to cure, he could not forgive himself for doing nothing._ _ _ _

____Percival stood, his head suddenly light, his vision spotted and full of ethereal colors. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall until he could tell where the ground was again, and followed Galahad through a small door to a dark space, somehow even colder than it had been outside. Galahad took something from the surroundings and then there was a small flame between them on the ground. Percival stared in awe at what Galahad had done._ _ _ _

____“No one will bother us here,” Galahad said. “Though someone must be looking for me by now.”_ _ _ _

____“If this is a holy place…” Percival tried to understand these disparate things he was learning. “Why is it so dark? Why must we hide?”_ _ _ _

____Percival saw that Galahad’s posture was so different inside - he sat cross-legged and stalk-straight, his eyes shifting and jaw tightening at every small sound from outside the room._ _ _ _

____“I think of it like a respite,” Galahad said in a way that struck Percival like a confession. “But really it must be my selfishness. I’m blessed more than others, but there are still things I run from, things I wish I could change.”_ _ _ _

____Percival reached his hand toward the flame, intent on touching it until it seemed to bite him and he jumped back in surprise. He repeated Galahad’s words to himself - there was something hidden behind them, and if he was to help him, he had to figure out what it was. He could tell Galahad did not like this place, but there was a resignation to his words, an admittance that his fate was written in the stones that housed him._ _ _ _

____“Creation is filled with joyful things,” Percival tried, but felt that somehow his tone did not match what he wanted to say. “All people should be able to find their refuge.”_ _ _ _

____Percival remembered something then, something from his old life, something that he finally understood in its true context._ _ _ _

____He turned the corners of his lips up in what he prayed Galahad would recognize as a smile._ _ _ _

____“What do you want to change?” Percival asked, his voice immediately brighter._ _ _ _

____Galahad’s eyes met Percival’s with a vulnerability Percival had not seen from him before._ _ _ _

____“I’ve only ever known God’s love,” Galahad said, in what must have been confidence. “Alone with Him, it feels different than what the nuns give me - theirs isn’t love. I want to find out what it’s like. _Human _love.”___ _ _ _

______“God does Love you,” Percival said on instinct. “I love you too, Galahad.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Galahad tilted his head._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You can’t love me...You don’t know me,” Galahad said._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I do, though,” Percival’s words were now flowing out of him as he thought them, his smile persisting through the heartache he felt on behalf of Galahad. “You are in pain and you do not deserve to be in pain.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Galahad cast his eyes down to look at the flame._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Thank you for your sympathy, but there is nothing I can do.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Where do you want to go? Where does your Love reside on this earth?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Galahad sat still and looked in another direction, perhaps in the direction of Love._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I have always wanted to know my father’s love,” Galahad said, much quieter to Percival’s ears._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Do you know where you might find him?” Percival asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______Galahad nodded before lowering his head._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I cannot go. I cannot run from my destiny.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Percival sank for a moment but once again, the right words found him in his time of need._ _ _ _ _ _

______“If it is truly your Destiny, it will find you wherever you go. Life does not interrupt Destiny, Destiny is a part of Life, and it is unique to the person you are, the choices you make.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Percival felt out of his body, or rather, what he felt for Galahad and what he was willing to do for him made him forget himself almost entirely, and as far as he was concerned he could have been anything, Angel or mortal, it did not matter, if it meant he was guiding Galahad toward something better._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Wherever it is you want to go, wherever you might find Love, I will protect you,” Percival said._ _ _ _ _ _

______Galahad, dimly illuminated in the flame between them, smiled in a way that seemed to change everything about him. Percival felt the lightness the...hope the boy exuded._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I could go to Camelot,” Galahad said, repeated. “I could go to Camelot.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Galahad took hold of the flame from its bottom and stood up so fast he stumbled off balance as Percival had before. Percival rose slower as he watched Galahad search through some of the contents of the room, unearthing a thick shoulder covering that he handed to Percival, before finding one for himself. Galahad disappeared for a minute, returning with a bag on his shoulder and his cloak covering his head._ _ _ _ _ _

______Percival covered himself as Galahad did, watching as Galahad extinguished the flame and led him back to the door outside. Percival heard Galahad breathe deeply, and Percival did the same, again becoming aware of himself, and this time the tears that clouded his vision. Percival touched his eyes, confused at the sensation which persisted even through the joy he felt for Galahad, and Galahad’s hand grasped Percival’s now, first, wiping away his tears then squeezing and keeping hold._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Thank you, Percival,” Galahad said, and Percival could see his eyes shining like the flame that had been their barrier. “Thank you so much.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Percival walked beside Galahad, into the darkening night where the clouds were already beginning to clear, revealing distant stars and other celestial bodies whose mysteries he had never known._ _ _ _ _ _

______All at once, Percival found himself. His infinite eyes opened once more, and the endless expanse of his soul returned, this time in an embrace that surrounded Galahad in an invisible light radiating from his own being, a light that too encompassed Percival in its warm glow and led the safest way for them both. Percival let himself become lost in this for a moment, but it felt easy to focus on the scene in front of him again. He knew Galahad could not see his wings, but if they should fall on their path to Camelot, Percival knew he would be able to catch Galahad without faltering, and fly them both to Heaven if it was what Galahad needed most._ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Al for the prompt that sparked this!


End file.
